Geremia's debut album is a little more folk than blues in its sound, despite some decent bottleneck playing by the artist. The singing is honest and unaffected, if a bit less effective than the more assured work of his recent albums. In fact, if more people had heard this record -- and had it been done about three years earlier -- he might have given
Bob Dylan a run for his money as a serious acoustic folkie. As it is, in 1968, this album (produced by
Patrick Sky, who also plays some guitar) was quaintly anachronistic and all the more refreshing for it at the time. In 1968, most white guys covering
Muddy Waters were doing his best-known songs in their best-known forms, not taking "I Can't Be Satisfied" back to its Stovall Plantation roots as "I Be Troubled" -- but that's exactly what
Geremia does (with some superb bottleneck), and makes it count. And "Hell Hound On My Trail," which closes the album, is even better. He gets points for research, care, and style, and this record is well worth finding. (Out of print)